Reading Log - June Recap

June was another lackluster reading month for me. I finished two books and started many more. I fluctuate in out of reading slumps, even in the middle of books lately. Very little holds my interests. It always feels almost like I will never read again, but it has happened often enough that I know better.

Here are the two books I finished in June:

22. Chasing Lincoln's Killer by James Swanson
23. Year of the Dog by Grace Lin

Year of the Dog was one of the best books I have read in a while. I loved the way that it talked about food even though it was a particularly brief book. Chasing Lincoln's Killer was a straightforward book on a subject matter that doesn't particularly interest me. As I have been working on my Gullah research, I have decided to pursue more information about the Civil War era, especially for slaves. In part, I have been curious when Gullah developed out of other slave culture and what are the defining factors of the culture? I think the language has a huge part in allowing Gullah to separate from both American culture and other aspects of African American culture. In that vein, I did start a few books of the subject.

Down by the Riverside
When Roots Die
Homes of the Freed
Harvesting Freedom
Sea Island Roots
Gullah Culture in American

I have been building an extensive library for my Gullah research and I decided that this summer was my time to jump into these books and really start learning more.

I did start a few other books as well. These were not related to Gullah culture.

Beartown
The Art of Eating
The Potlikker Papers
Mythologies
Letters to the Lost

As always, I continued with a few titles as well.

Silent Spring
Black Utopia

Here is what I hope to start soon:

The Hate You Give
Eight Flavors
Symptoms of Being Humans
A Social History of the Sea Islands

I really thought that Beartown would be the title to get me out of my reading slump, but the storyline took a cheap turn for the cliché and I am unsure about the ability for the story to recover.

Like usual my interests start to converge. Some of the books I acquired during my utopian studies are now being helpful for my Gullah research. There is a certain discord in reading a book with Utopia on the cover and having the chapter be about slavery. The ability for some enslaved individuals to keep a positive during their time in bondage is incredible to me. I am interested to continue my studies in this direction.